Color changer for sparklers and analogous lights



. March 8, 1927.

1,620,560 K. KOHN COLOR CHANGER FOR SPARKLERS AND ANALOGOUS LIGHTS Filed Aug; 2, 1923 Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

tics.

T if

v KOIBY KOI-IN, or new YORK, n. Y., ASSIGNQR TO vioroav SPARKLE-R & srnomn'r'y 00., or ELKTON, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

COLOR CHANGER FOR SPARKLERS AND AN ALOGOUS LIGHTS.

Application filed. August 2, 1923.

This invention relates to a toy device intended and adapted to excite the interest of children, surprise, please and amuse them. It has the optical effect of rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light emanating from a single source and will cause said light to appear to be simultaneously of two or more different colors. Broadly stated, it consists of a supporting member adapted to be carried in the hand of the operator, a light producer preferably in the the form of a small elongated rod-like member having one end detachably connected to said support and its other end capable of producing light and also preferably sparks,

a plurality of sections of thin translucentrelative movement of the lighted end of said light produce-r and said colored sections in succession as to produce for the observer the optical eflect of rapid changes in the color of the light. The light producer may, as above stated, be any small rod-like member capable of producing light at one end, such as a very small candle or even a match, but the invention is particularly designed for use with what are known as sparklers, which are very well known and in common use particularly on July 4th.

A sparkler is usually composed of a small straight wire, or a stick of wood of approximately the cross section of a match, but longer, with a composition of varying thickness surrounding ity in solid form from or near a point at one end to a point about half or more of its length, which composition is highly combustible. The end of the wirevor stick on which there is no composition is ordinarily held between the fingers of the user and the other end lighted. The combustible material of the sparkler burns rather rapidly and usually gives off sparks, and the color of the light varies with the character of the ingredients of which the material is composed. Some compositions produce a brilliant white flame while producing many sparks which are thrown or fly outwardly from the sparkler as it burns. Those compositions, however, which produce colored lights such as green, red or other colors, the sparks are larger than those where the light is white and they are not thrown off to such a great distance from the sparkler and the composition does not burn Serial No. 655,348.

as rapidly as that producing the white light. The composition producing colored light pro.- duces a flame which is larger than that of the white light composition.

The novel features of the invention will be understood from the following description and claims taken in connection with the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying one form of the invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical section partly broken away of the rotary disk constituting a part of the device on the line 2-..2 of Figure 1. p

Figure 3 is a horizontal section partly broken away centrally through the rod which constitutes the support for the devic and taken in a plane at right angles to. Figure 2.

Figure l is a side view partly in section of one end of a rod having a modified construction for holding the light producer, and a modified connection between the disk and the supporting rod, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the end of the rod with its means for holdingthe light producer in the form shown in Figure 4.

As will be seen by reference to Figure 1, the device includes a small cylindrical rod 10 which is adapted to be carried in the hand of the user. Near one end of this rod 10 there is a transverse opening 11 extending entirely through the rod, but this opening has two diameters, the smaller portion 19 extending part way through the rod, and the larger cylindrical portion. 13 constituting a continuation of the opening or bore 12. This opening is adapted'to receive the uncoated end portion lit of a sparkler projecting from the rod at right angles. The combustible material 15 on the sparkler. extends from its outer end to the rod 10 and may rest in the enlarged upper cylindrical endportion 13 of the opening in that rod, as shown in Figure 2. The surface 16 of the rod 10 in and around the opening 13 is preferably made of incombu'stible material so that the heat of the sparkler when it burns down to the nod will'not be suflicient to set it on fire, even where the rod is made of wood.

A circular disk 17, preferably made of cardboard but it may be made of weed, tin

ed on the rod between its ends. In the form shown in Figures 1 and 2 thedisk is provided with a central opening 18 in which a cylindrical bearing, sleeve 19 is secured fitting around the rod 10' so'as'to'perinit;

the disk torotate around the rod or the 'rod' to 'rota'te'in' thedisk. 'Pins 20,21 pass ingthrough therod at the ends 'ofth'is sleeve serve to holdthe sleeve in proper -longitudinal position on the rod while permitting itto rot-ate.

The disk 17 has anopaque circular central portion 22 in'the'iorm'shownin Figure; 1,

but openings are formed at intervals around the rod 10 so as to permit light to pass through from the sparkler towards the other end of the rod10. These openings extend outwardly toacircular line 23near the outer I margin and may be of any 'sha'pedes'ired and may vary in number. Some oi the opens ings are covered 'bysections orsegments of, tlnn translucentinateriahsuch as glass or paper but preferably gelatine, and these thin translucent sections are composed of material having different colors for the difierent sections In making, the device these sections of colored translucent material are cutto substantially the shape of the openings in the disk '17 but with'dimensions slightly larger so that the edges of thet'ranslucent sections will slightly lap the edges of the openings in the disk. I A circular sections of thin strong paper 39, having the same diameter as the disk 17 and a similar central opening to receive the sleeve 19, has openings cut in it corresponding to those in the disk 17, and this paper disk is then by the use oit an adhesive material pasted on the disk 17 on the same side with the translucent sections with its edges 38 overlapping the edges of said translucent sections just as they overlap the edges of the. openings in the disk. This layer of paper thus serves to securely hold those translucent sheets in place across the openings.

In Figure 1 the sections 2 1 and .25 are colored red, the section 26 is colored blue, and the section 27 is colored blue, but it will of course be understood that the coloring may be varied as desired, and the number of colored sections may also vary as de sired. In the form shown in Figure 1, there are two openings 28, 29 which are not covered by the translucent material and therefore the normal color of the light produced by the sparkler and of its sparks will show through these openings as they pass the line of light.

In order that the disk 17 may rotate on the rod 10 when that rod is moved by the hand in the are of a circle, a small weight 30 preferably in the form of a metal disk having approximately the thickness of the disk 17 is placed in a circular opening 31 in extending across it and pasted at its ends to the sides of the, disk, 17 I I In operating the device above described, the sparkler as shown is placed in position with its u'ncoated end extending down ward 1y through the opening 12 in the rod 10, and the'upper end ofthecompositio'n coating 15 is then lighted and itcommences to burn and give oil sparks. The user then rotates the rod 10' somewhat as if it was moving in the arc of the outer circumference of the disk 17,

which causes the disk 17 to rotate bringing the variouscolored sections successivelyinto line with thelight produced by the sparkler."

It has been found in actualpractice, that when the device is moved on circular lines,

as indicated, one looking longitudinally of the rodwill see the sparks given oft by the sparkler as red, white and blue at the Same time and will see the flameof thesparkler having these, various colors but continuously I changing. This follows on the use oi a sparkler which gives even white light as well as those that give colored light. There will furthermore be observed a circle or band of I lightcorresponding to the are of movementof the light, and this band or circle of light will be of varying colors. I In the form of the device shown in Figures 4 and 5, the rod-10 has rigidly connected to it, a circular disk 33 which -may be con-t structed in the same way i as that shown in Figure 1 with the same openings and colored translucent coverings. Where, however, the disk is rigidly connected to the rod 10, the outer end of the rod 10 has mounted on it a cylindrical rotary member 34 preferably made of metal which fits around the end of the rod 10 and has inward projections fitting in a peripheral groove 36 so as to permit the cylindrical part 34 to rotate on rod 10, butholding it in proper longitudinal position. This cylindrical member has longitudinal slots 37 extending from its outer end and tapering inwardly to receive and engage the uncoated end of the sparzler, as shown in Figure 4-. In this form of device, when the rod 10 is moved in the arc of a circle, the sparkler by reason of the greater weight of its'coated end will cause the cylindrical, member 34 carrying it to rotate on the rod 10, so that it will pass successively.

thus the sparks appear more distinct and A separate from each other than in the operation of the first form.

Although two specific embodiments of the invention are shown for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that the inven- I;

tion is not limited to the details shown be yond what is required in the attachedclaims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: p i

1. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, a rod, means at one end of said rod for supporting a freely combustible light producer in fixed relation thereto and holding it projecting rigidly therefrom, a circular disk concentrically mounted on said rod between its ends having translucent differently colored sections, and means for causing relative rotation of said disk and rod.

2. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, a rod, means at one end of said rod for rigidly supporting a light producer in fixed relation thereto and holding it projecting laterally therefrom, a circular disk concentrically and. rotatively mounted on said rod between its ends having translucent differently colored sections, and means for causing relative rotation of said disk and rod.

3. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, a rod, means at one end of said rod for supporting a light producer and holding it projecting therefrom, a circular disk concentrically and rotatively mounted on. said rod between its ends having translucent differently colored sections, means for causing relative rotation of said disk and means for supporting said light producer, and a small weight carried by said disk near its periphery whereby a lateral movement of the rod will cause the disk to turn on it.

4. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, a rod, means at one end of said rod for supporting a combustible light producer in fixed relation thereto and holding it projecting therefrom, an opaque circular disk concentrically mounted on said rod between its ends, the said disk having openings of predetermined sizes and shapes through it at intervals, some of said openings being closed by colored translucent material of dif ferent colors, and means for causing relative rotation of said disk.

5. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, a rod, means at one end of said rod for supporting a light producer and holding it projecting therefrom, an opaque circular disk concentrically and rotatively mounted on said rod between its ends, the said disk having openings of predetermined sizes and shapes through it at intervals, some of'said openings being closed by colored translucent material of different colors, a small weight carried by said disk near its periphery whereby a lateral movementof said rod will cause said disk to turn on it 6. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by an element carried by said device comprising in combination, arod, means atone end of said rod for supporting a light producer and holding it projecting therefrom, an opaque circular disk concentrically and rotativelymounted on said rod between its ends, the said disk having openings of predetermined sizes and shapes through it at intervals, some of said openings being closed by colored translucent material of different colors, and means unbalancing said disk whereby a proper movement of said rod Will cause said disk to turn on it.

7. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of combustible light from a light producer in the form of a small rod or stick producing light at one end comprising in combination, portable supporting means, means carried by said supporting means for engaging and holding the inactive end of said light producer fixed relative thereto and with its other end projecting freely therefrom, a comparatively thin flat member having successive sections of differently colored translucent materials, means so connecting said thin flat member to said supporting means that its surface will be in a plane at substantially right angles to a line through the engaging means for said light producer, and means for causing said thin fiat member to so move in said plane as to cause said differently colored sections to come into alignment with the projecting portions of said light producer viewed from a relatively fixed point.

8. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light and sparks produced by combustible material coating one end portion of a small stick of woodcalled a sparkler, comprising in combination, portable supporting means, means carried by said supporting means for engaging and holding in fixed relation thereto the uncoated end of said sparkler stick with its other end projecting freely therefrom, a comparatively thin flat member having sections of difi'erently colored translucent material at intervals, means so connecting said thin flat member to said supporting means that its surface will be in a plane at right angles to a line through the engaging means for said sparkler, and means for causing said thin flat member to so move in said plane as to cause said differently colored segments to come into alignment with the projecting portion of the sparkler viewed from a relatively fixed point.

9. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by a sparkl-er, comprising means for supporting a sparkler With its combustible end tree and an element having a translucent colored section, and embedded means for causing relative rotation between said sparkler and said element having said translucent colored section.

10. A device for rapidly and repeatedly changing the color of light produced by a sparkler, comprising a translucent colored element, means for supporting a sparkler and said translucent colored element, and means for causing relative rotation between said sparkler and said translucent colored element.

11. In a toy of the class described, manually supported means for holding a sparkler remote from the person, and a transparent spark viewing means mounted on said holding means between the sparkler and the person.

12. In a toy of the class described, 1nanually supported means for rigidly holding a sparkler remote from the person, and a plurality of transparent colored means mounted on saidholding means between the sparkler and the person.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

KOBY KOHN. 

